The truth behind how Atticus became Nightshroud
by Angelika's Planetarium
Summary: Ever wondered how Atticus became Nightshroud? He tells you himself. Zane is the world's ruler and controls Duel Academy. Also explains why Viper is friendless, ugly and evil. Mentions of Zane x Atticus. Oneshot!


**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. I do not own the Macarena dance (how sad), or Top Raving. And unfortunately, I also do not own the Pokemon Theme Song.**

**Author's note: Top Raving is a dance invented by YouTube's nigahiga. The link to watch the dance is as follows:** Go to YouTube and add this at the end - watch?v=-pszRSF4qwc&feature=channel_video_title

X

"NO! STOP! You're doing it wrong!"

"Well I'm _sorry_ if I can't tell the difference between the Macarena and Top Raving, Dr Crowler."

"Get it right, Atticus! The show is this Saturday!" The brunette was shot an icy glare that was cold enough to freeze Elemental Hero Burstinatrix.

Atticus sighed as Crowler, his personal dance teacher, turned the aesthetically-revolting, traditional Macarena music back on and fantasized about spearing his teacher with a wooden pike as Crowler continuously hollered at him like a demonic metronome.

"Why did you even want to take DANCE lessons in DUEL Academy?" the brunette muttered to himself, voice full of remorse. "Even Bastion dances better than Crowler!"

"Dance break!" screeched Crowler.

The brunette stumbled to the center. "That's my cue." He began to do the wave, his body twisting and turning perfectly in sync with the strange music. It was magnificent enough to make fangirls produce enough drool to fill up Atem's Nile River.

"Cut! CUT!" screamed Crowler, slamming the stop button. "For the love of Ancient Gear Golem, Mr Rhodes, can you get the dance break right? You should move like this!" he cried as he flopped his arms around like a stoned octopus trapped in 4Kid's Shadow Realm. "NOT LIKE THIS!" he yelled, violently splashing his arms and intentionally striking Atticus across the face.

"THAT'S IT!" shrieked the brunette, boiling with rage. "I've had it with these STUPID OLD WOMEN teaching me how to do these STUPID OLD DANCES!"

"I'm not old!" Crowler screamed back. "And did you just call me a WOMAN?"

"Oops." Atticus reverted back to his usual bubbly and cheerful state. "My bad."

Re-entering psycho mode, Atticus ripped off his tutu and hurled it in Crowler's face. "STILL, I QUIT!"

The brunette paused, which made him sound far more dramatic than he originally intended, and added, "You're still old and stupid though."

Crowler's face turned even redder than Red Eyes Black Dragon. "Watch who you're calling old and stupid… Look who's prancing around like a petite little boy in a leotard!"

"So's your face!" screamed Atticus, hopelessly scrounging out a useless insult as he barged out of the door.

"I never really wanted to be a male stripper anyway!"

X

"Ugh! I hate him so much!" Atticus muttered as he leaned on the railings, sulking. Taking a deep breath, the brunette took in his surroundings. The view at the harbor was stunning. White waves gently crashed against the shore and the sky was crystal clear. And that wasn't even the best part...

"There aren't any fangirls!" he exclaimed in surprise. Usually, he was always trailed by a huge crowd of crazed fangirls (and boys), never given privacy unless he was going to, y'know, excrete and stuff. "This place is perfect," he said in awe. "No wonder why Zane hangs out here all the time."

"Eh?" Atticus saw a familiar silhouette on the other side end of the harbor. He squinted and saw a young man, with an impeccable stoic face and inscrutable dark eyes, approximately the same age as himself. He trudged over. "Zaney?"

The instant they locked eyes, the boy started edging towards Arthur as he stared at his face, and smiled seductively. "Yes, it's me... Hello Atticus," he said, still smiling. His voice was gentle and sweet. Completely un-Zane like, noted the brunette.

Zane placed an arm around Atticus's shoulder and the brunette shuddered in pleasure. "Missed me, my Atti?"

"OH, YES!" squealed Atticus excitedly, completely oblivious. Then he hesitated. "Wait, Zaney, aren't you supposed to be at the pro league right now?"

"I came back to spend time with you," Zane finally admitted after pausing for quite a long time. "Let's head over to the abandoned dorm. I brought you a present!"

"Ooh!" Atticus was already excited. "Is it... Edible?"

"Yes!" Peculiarly, Zane was perkier than usual. But the brunette paid no attention to that. "They're candy!" he added.

Atticus looked like a five year old child who just woke up on Christmas day. "Oh boy, I'm so touched! Zaney bought me candy!"

Zane stood up. "So, my Atti? Want to follow me to the abandoned dorm? I have LOTS of deeeee-licious confectionary to gobble down there! Why don't you grab some before you head back to the Obelisk dorm?"

"YES! I WOULD LOVE TO! YAY!" Atticus chirped cheerfully as he followed Zane off.

X

"Here we are. Say hello to the abandoned dorm."

"Hi Mr. Abandoned Dorm!" exclaimed Atticus, waving.

"Retard," muttered Zane under his breath as he opened the door, stifling a burst of sinister cackling.

Atticus poked his head in the dorm. "Ooh. What's this?"

"MOVE! MOVE! GET IN THE DORM!" Zane screamed, shoving the brunette in.

BANG! He slammed the door shut. "VIPER! Anaesthetize the boy!" he yelled, voice echoing through the halls.

"What are you doing?" Atticus asked innocently.

"Foolish fool! Isn't it obvious enough that you've fallen for my wicked scheme? VIPER! Where are you?"

"Master Banner." An eerie looking man with a grotesque scar on his face walked out of the hallway, holding a test tube containing a solution in one hand and a syringe in the other.

"PROFESSOR BANNER?" Atticus stared at Zane. "Zaney... Did he just call you BANNER?"

"Why, yes," replied Zane.

The brunette looked lost in thought. "But aren't you my Zaney?"

"No, I'm Banner!"

The brunette crossed his arms, looking as radiant as ever. "You look like Zane."

Zane - or should we say Banner - sighed. "No, it's really Banner."

"Bu-"

Banner cut him off. "I had plastic surgery to look more fantabulous," he hissed.

"Oh. Right." was the nonplussed Atticus's reply. "Trying to be someone you're not, huh? You still don't look half as handsome as he does, though."

Viper's awkward cough interrupted the two's conversation. "Erm, Master Banner. Which duel monster shall our specimen morph into?"

"This one," squealed Banner as he playfully pinched the brunette on the cheek, "Is one of my special students!"

"You call all of them your special students." Viper looked slightly annoyed.

He was ignored. "Mystical Elf, perhaps?"

"No!" Atticus wailed in defense. "How can such a ravishing boy like me become a blue-skinned elf lady?"

"Fine," sighed Banner. "White Magician Pikeru."

"I'm not the type to be a cute girl in a white dress!" exclaimed the brunette in response, slightly exasperated.

"Alright. Here's the last deal." Banner leaned in closer. "Harpie La-"

"I DON'T WANNA BE A FLYING CHICK, DAMMIT!"

"Um, Master," Viper said pleasantly. "What about turning him into a Key?"

Banner smacked himself on the forehead. "How could I have forgotten? Yes, yes. A Key. Begin by injecting him with TSUEWETD4M!"

"Wuzdat?" the brunette was already tired of protesting. Besides, the name "Key" sounded cool.

"The Solution of Utter Evil Which is even more Evil Than the Dubs 4Kids make!" Banner said triumphantly. He turned back to Viper. "Inject him now!"

Viper swiftly jabbed Atticus on the arm.

"Ow," complained the brunette.

"Then we'll send him off to duel Jaden. In a volcano. Because it's cool." Banner added thoughtfully. "No pun intended." He turned back to Atticus. "You shall go by the name Nightshroud."

"NIGHTSHROUD?" the brunette screeched in disgust. "Wasn't I called Key?"

"No, that's a general term. Viper, get him out of here." Viper dragged Atticus out of the dorm and slammed the door shut.

X

"_Gotta duel em, gotta duel em all! Attimon_!" sang Atticus determinedly as he trudged back into his room in the Obelisk dorm. "Key is back!" he proclaimed.

Obviously, that warranted no response whatsoever.

Atticus flounced over to his bed and plopped down. "I can't believe Banner wanted to turn me into Mystical Elf!" he scowled in disgust. "Atti, how could you let someone treat you like that?"

The brunette leaned backwards and became lost in thought. "Hey, I should like, take revenge. Then I'd be cool, like Zaney!" Once again, filled with excitement, Atticus scuttled over to his wardrobe, opening it. "Every cool person has to have a cool outfit," he murmured, scanning his rack of clothes. "Let's see. Should I wear Hawaiian shirt #46 or Hawaiian shirt #103?" He sighed. This was going to be harder than he thought.

After a while, he finally settled on Hawaiian shirt #67. Securely fastening his duel disk on his arm, the brunette set off to the abandoned dorm.

X

There was an ominous silence outside the dorm. "Banner! Viper!" boomed Atticus, "Come out and duel me to the death! You're going down!"

Silence.

"OR I'LL STEAL ALL YOUR MYSTICAL ELF CARDS!" the brunette added threateningly.

"I won't let that happen!" Crashing out of the trees, riding on his cat Pharaoh, was Banner. "Looking for me, Mr Rhodes?"

"AGGGGH!" screamed Viper, being dragged out of the woods by a horde of serpents. "SCARY SNAKES ARE SCARY!"

Banner sighed. "Viper, we practiced this opening loads of times. Why did you have to screw up now? I wanted us to look epic."

"Sorry…"

Banner turned back to Atticus. "Nightshroud."

"It's Key!" whined the brunette.

"Whatever." Banner rolled his eyes. "It's time to settle this." He and Viper whipped out their duel disks. Viper's was moss green while Banner's glowed a manly bubblegum pink.

Atticus nodded. "I'm here to terminate you." He activated his duel disk.

Seeing the determination in the brunette's eyes, Banner smirked. "Are you joking? I'm a Professor in Duelology! You can't beat me in a duel!"

"What makes you think that I was planning to duel you?" Atticus retorted.

"WHAT?"

The brunette stretched out his arm. "Card sniping sequence, go!"

Atticus's duel disk began shooting out cards at the speed of light. "It's a waste of cards," Atticus remarked sadly as he watched the cards pin Viper and Banner to the ground. With a victorious cry, the brunette launched himself on the duo.

X

"You'd make a perfect Nightshroud, but unfortunately, your time has come, Atti-kun," crooned Banner.

"It's Key!"

"Whatever."

"I'd obviously make a perfect Key! Perfection... It's in my genetic makeup." Atticus declared as he punched Banner in the chest.

"Uh! My rib!"

The brunette threw his fist at Banner again.

"Uhh! My other rib!" He paused. "But it doesn't matter." Banner laughed hysterically as he choked blood. "I know your greatest weakness."

"What?" Atticus asked in astonishment.

Banner smirked as he gasped for air. "You see... Back in the abandoned dorm, we had injected you with the substance TSUEWETD4M, which contains powder from Mystical Elf."

"Mystical Elf again? Spare me the details," Atticus stifled a yawn.

Banner decided to ignore the brunette's statement. He continued. "But guess what? All of the specimens injected with Mystical Elf powder shared one same weakness - they turned into pixie dust when they were exposed to the real world."

"The real world?"

"This is an imaginary world. It was created by the Almighty and Omnipotent Zane Truesdale!" Banner wishfully looked up to the sky.

"Eh? You mean Zaney?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, you're just a mere fragment of his imagination!" Viper smirked.

"Nuh-uh. I'm his boyfriend," Atticus said with a hint of pride in his voice.

"Foolish fool. Zane can't possibly like a guy! How dare you lie? Zane will send you to the Shadow Realm!" Banner was enraged.

"You just said the S word!" gasped Viper.

Banner laughed. "Does it matter?" Zane granted me immortality. After all, I'm his favorite character."

"Madness. This is madness!" Atticus whispered dramatically. "I don't believe it at all! I should be his favorite!"

"And guess what," added Banner coldly, "You're not serious enough to be the protagonist. It should have been me."

"No! But I'm Zaney's boyfriend! You're a demented professor who wants to turn students into Mystical Elves! And Viper is just one of your loyal minions!" protested Atticus.

"Whatever. Zaney likes me most," insisted Banner.

At that second, blinding lightning shot from the skies and struck Banner.

**No one calls me Zaney except for my Atti.**

"ZANEY!" Atticus yelled in delight, an infectious smile spreading all over his face.

"Oh! Curse you, Truesdale!" Banner's head started glowing. "That's it; I'm kicking your brother out of Duel Academy!" Banner exclaimed furiously as the glowing spread all over his body. "Syrus sucked at dueling anyways... Almost as bad as the Vice Chairperson of the Hawaiian Shirts Fanclub here!" spat Banner, pointing at the sparkly-eyed brunette. "I never appreciated Syrus Truesdale and his stupid little machine deck!"

**How dare you call my brother's deck stupid. I'm the only one who can do that.**

"Do I seem to care?" Banner's eyes narrowed into slits.

**No. Doesn't matter.**

Another pause.

**Time to eliminate you.**

"Ooh!" Atticus swept his hair back dramatically and gazed at Banner, flashing him a charming grin. "Any last words?"

Silence.

"Before you die..." Atticus smiled angelically and leaned in closer to Banner. "One more thing you should know: I'm the Chairperson of the Hawaiian Shirts Fanclub."

"Nobody cares about your stupid Hawaiian shir-" Banner shrieked as Zane sent him to the Shadow Realm, disintegrating him into pixie dust.

"SERVES YOU RIGHT! SERVES YOU RIGHT!" chanted Atticus excitedly. He hesitated. "Wait, nobody cares about my fanclub? Is that true, Viper?" the brunette snapped as he deactivated his duel disk.

"Most likely, Mr Rhodes," Viper replied. "It's purpose is rather tedious."

"No it's not!" Atticus scowled. "Shut up, Viper. You're just a minor character."

"But you asked me for my opini-"

"Not anymore."

**As interesting as watching the two of you bicker is, I'm afraid I have to interrupt your conversation.** Zane's enigmatic voice rang out from the sky.

"Whazzup, Zaney?"

**Atti, you can't tell a single soul that I'm the creator of this world. My physical body is actually still sleeping in the pro league.**

"Oh, really?" the brunette smiled slyly, obviously trying to get a rise out of Zane. "What do I get for not telling?"

**I'll give you a kiss when I get back.**

"Atti likey... But..." Atticus pouted provocatively, the adorable way he practiced in front of the mirror everyday. "Not enough."

**I'll throw in... Something nice. Something inappropriate. Something you'd definitely enjoy.**

"Tell me what it is!"

**Not in a million years. Stop questioning me, my Atti. Or I'll spoil the plot and reveal everything that's going to happen in the future.**

"Aw, menacing! But I still wanna kn-"

**Jaden fuses with Yubel. Blair returns to Duel Academy. I end up in a wheelch-**

"Enough!" the brunette whimpered, covering his ears in defense. "Okay, okay, I won't ask."

**Now love, head back to the Obelisk dorm.**

"No!" Tears spouted out from the brunette's eyes, flowing out in an arc, forming two parabolas of fountain tears that defied gravity. "I'm not leaving you again, Zaney!"

**I'm sorry, Atti. Since you're not listening... I'll have to result to this.**

A blinding light shot out from the sky and enveloped Atticus.

**You will now be known as Nightshroud.**

"Yes, Zane. I understand." Atticus looked like he was hypnotized.

**Hmm.**

A black masquerade mask appeared out of thin air, startling Viper. It levitated above the ground, gliding over to Atticus.

**Put that on, Nightshroud. Now go to a volcano and guard it until Jaden appears**.

"Absolutely. Farewell." the brunette swiftly walked off in the mask.

X

Viper, the only one left, looked up at the sky once again. "Why'd you send him off to a volcano?"

**I overheard the conversation you and Banner had. This was done in his memory.**

"Right." Viper sighed. "Zane, why did you give Atticus that mask to wear? Was it even essential?"

**No, it wasn't necessary. But...**

There was a quiet chuckle.

**He looked sexier with it on. I like it.**

"Oh phooey," grumbled Viper. "More of that _yaoi_ stuff."

There was no reply.

"Atticus is such a dope sometimes," Viper said with a frown. "I don't understand why he's in a relationship with a pro duelist like you."

**Did. You. Just. Insult. My. Atticus.**

"Uh, just a little..."

**HOW DARE YOU.** The sky rumbled and rain began to fall, turning from a trickle into a shower.

**No one ever insults my Atti. I would have sent you to the Shadow Realm on the spot... But I want you to suffer.**

Viper averted his gaze, afraid to look up.

Zane's voice was full of suppressed hate and anger. **You, Viper, will return to this world in the third season as the main antagonist. I'll even give you bad traits so more people can hate on you. Let's see, an ugly haircut, a snake deck and a hateful personality. Sounds good.**

Thunder boomed and lightning crashed to the ground. Viper began to wish he stayed at home in bed instead.

Zane rumbled on. **You'll have to duel the best duelist I know, Jaden Yuki. And you'll be CRUSHED, you hear? Once you get defeated, I'll send you off to the Shadow Realm.**

Stunned silence from Viper.

**Yes, perfect. Let's do this. Fairy dust maneuver, activate.**

"Argh!" Viper cried as he temporarily exploded into fairy dust.

X

Jaden's mouth hung open, big enough to contain multiple handfuls of fried shrimp. Jesse's emerald eyes were even wider than dinner plates. Zane's stoic face was more rigid than usual. Chazz looked disgusted. And Alexis seemed slightly irritated.

Atticus swiveled in the chair he was sitting on in the Slifer Red dorm and stared at his gaping friends.

"And that's how Viper became the bad guy and why I became Nightshroud."


End file.
